Paper short abstract:

Japanese wireweed from the heart of the Atlantic break rules and land borders, and is considered as a potentially foreign threat in Sweden. By examining narratives that frame the invasive and rule-breaking seaweed practices, my contribution aims to shed light on invasiveness as a cultural concept.

Paper long abstract:

“Sargasso is a place forgotten by the winds. Under the rarely cloudy sky, it´s water becomes hot and heavy with salt. Strange things happen to the animals that have taken a ride on the Japanese wireweed into a new areas.”

(Carson 1959)

The Swedish edition of Carson's book contains descriptions and illustrations of the Japanese wireweed. The floating seaweed lives attached to the cliffs along the coasts of the Caribbean and Florida. When storms during the hurricane periods wear away the seaweed, it is picked up by the Gulf Stream and drifts north. The drifting seaweed is presented in Carson's book as something of an old mystery.

There are various explanations and narratives related to how the Sargasso Sea got it´s driving seaweed. Japanese wireweed, Sargassum muticum, is originally believed to come from Japan, and accompanied an oyster export to France in the 1970s. By 2020, Japanese wireweed has the status of an alien and potentially invasive species in Sweden. As a self-fertilizer, a plant may be sufficient to form new stands. The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management describes the algae as perennial and believes that it has a strategy “where it both stays and moves”.

The seaweed from the heart of the Atlantic continues to break rules and land borders, and is today considered as a potentially foreign threat in Sweden. By examining the different narratives that frame the seaweed's invasive and rule-breaking practices, my contribution aims to shed light on invasiveness as a complex cultural concept.